


there's a cute boy

by crimsonxraptor



Category: Compilation of Final Fantasy VII
Genre: Alternate Universe, Bisexual Male Character, Closeted, Flirting, M/M, Moving, Tumblr Prompt
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-21
Updated: 2020-05-21
Packaged: 2021-03-02 22:40:46
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,070
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24304567
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/crimsonxraptor/pseuds/crimsonxraptor
Summary: Nibelheim burns down so the Strife's move to Gongaga. Cloud meets a boy.
Relationships: Zack Fair/Cloud Strife
Comments: 1
Kudos: 92





	there's a cute boy

**Author's Note:**

> for the prompt "finding another gay after you move to a new small town"
> 
> sry if it feels short, i kept feeling like i was overworking it when trying to make it longer

Cloud is 17 when his hometown burns to the ground. A fire in one of the buildings spreads to all the others and with a non-existent fire-fighting department all the inhabitants could do was watch as Nibelheim went down in flames; there was only so much pails upon pails of water could do. Everyone loses everything, save for anything they managed to take with them or salvage once the fire went out on its own.

  
Tifa, his only friend, heads off to Midgar with her father, something about “better opportunities”. Cloud doesn’t care about what her dad has to say, only that Tifa is going far away and that he isn’t also going to the city he longs to live in. Instead his mom takes them to Gongaga. There’s a chance they could rebuild their home as most of the Nibelheim residents are hoping to do but his mom would rather start over.

  
They get dropped off at the nearest bus station miles away, purchase tickets to Gongaga, and that’s when their new life begins.

  
“It’ll be alright, Cloud, we’ll settle in just fine.”

  
Cloud doubts her but stays quiet. Tifa was the only one who knew he liked boys. He’s sure his mom would be supportive but it wasn’t a chance he was willing to take after all of her insistence on finding a nice, older girlfriend. He would date a girl, sure, but he had his preferences.

  
Gongaga is about the same familiar size as Nibelheim, just structured differently. 

  
“What if they don’t have room for us?” Cloud asks.

  
His mom takes a deep breath. “Then we’ll go back to Nibelheim.”

  
Cloud feels a little bitter about this. All of this just to possibly go back? Well, it doesn’t matter. No amount of moving around can bring Tifa back or even tell him where she lives in Midgar; as far as he knows she’s gone forever.

  
This sucks.

  
Luckily for him and his mom the innkeeper both lets them stay the night for free--he heard rumors about the fire, they could see the smoke from Gongaga--and can get them in touch with the owner of an empty house on the edge of town.

  
News of their arrival and origin spreads fast and suddenly they’re flocked wherever they go. Everyone is kind and willing to help them, going so far as to offer their skills in building furniture, fixing homes, and providing meals until they can get back on their feet. Cloud can’t help but shy away from all the good will; it’s too much attention for him.

  
There’s a handful of kids around his age and they introduce themselves to him but he doesn’t know what to do. He was used to the same kids he grew up with, meeting new people is unsettling. He continuously excuses himself to help his mom with cleaning the once-abandoned house, even though she tries to usher him to go out and mingle.

  
Cloud is sitting on the bridge on the other side of the town, stewing in his loneliness, when someone suddenly sits down next to him. He jumps and the boy laughs, swinging his legs. He has short, spiky black hair and a big bright smile that makes Cloud’s heart skip.

  
“Hey there! You’re that Nibelheim guy, right? Sorry ‘bout what happened, I can’t imagine what that must be like.”

  
Cloud fidgets. “Um...yeah, that’s me.” This boy is cute.

  
“Nice to meet ya! I’m Zack, what about you?”

  
“...Cloud.”

  
Zack claps a hand on Cloud’s shoulder and grins at him. “Well, Cloud, welcome to Gongaga! There’s not much out here but it’s home,” he says, gesturing out to the town. “I can show you around if you want.”

  
Cloud shrugs. “Yeah, sure...” he says, aware that he’s only accepting this one offer because Zack is cute. He’s sure nothing will come of it, it never does and he’s okay with that. The closest he got to dating someone was Tifa until they decided they were better off as friends.

  
“Alright, it’s a date!” Zack announces, patting Cloud’s shoulder. Cloud looks at him with widened eyes and a slight warmth to his cheeks.

  
“A date?” he asks. He mulls it over. Might as well take him up on it if he’s serious. Why not start a new life with being open and out, even to just one guy? “Sure, why not?”

  
Zack looks shocked. “Huh? Wait, really?”

  
Cloud purses his lips to the side. “What?” Did he misread this?

  
“No, I just...usually guys--and girls, actually--take that as a joke, I didn’t think it’d work.”

  
“Well...I’m taking you up on it. You better show me a good time.”

  
Zack recovers from his shock and chuckles. “Man, I like you, Cloud. Alright, how ‘bout now?”

  
Cloud scratches the back of his head. “Uh...yeah, sure.”

  
\---

  
“Aaand that’s it for the tour-date! What’d you think?” Zack asks, tilting his head at Cloud when they wind back up at Zack’s house.

  
Cloud shrugs. “Ain’t bad.”

  
“That’s it?”

  
“...It seems nice. I’ll show mom around later, she’ll like it a lot.”

  
Zack hums and looks up at his house. “Y’know, I didn’t think someone else like us would move here. It’s a real small town, who would come all the way out here?”

  
Cloud has an idea of what he’s referring to. “Uh, yeah, I didn’t expect to find anyone else. My friend back home was, too, but she went off to Midgar.”

  
Zack sighs. “It’ll be great to have a friend like you, I can tell.”

  
“Just based on...?”

  
“Nah, not just that. I think we’d be great pals even if we didn’t have that in common.”

  
Cloud feels a little warm in his chest. Zack’s optimism is contagious and he’s so much more charming than anyone Cloud has met before. He’s not one to form relationships on his own, or want to at all, but Zack wormed his way into his life and immediately found a place in it. 

  
This...might turn out okay.

  
\---

  
Cloud is 20 when Zack asks him on a date--a real one. He asks him on the bridge they met on, and now Zack’s hair is longer and Cloud’s is shorter. Cloud’s told his mom by now and while she seemed confused she accepted it pretty quickly. So, his life in Gongaga hasn’t been all that bad.

  
“A date? Sure, why not?”

**Author's Note:**

> my fic blog is [raptorbox](http://raptorbox.tumblr.com)!


End file.
